Yemen's war has claimed thousands of lives and pushed millions to the brink of famine -- and now the conflict threatens the fate of a collection of millennia-old mummies

(AFP)

From Syria's Palmyra to Libya's Leptis Magna, millennia-old historical remains face looting and destruction in various parts of the Middle East.

The Islamic State group systematically demolished pre-Islamic monuments in Syria and Iraq after seizing swathes of both countries in 2014, looting and selling smaller pieces on the black market to fund their rule.

Swiss authorities last year seized cultural relics looted from Yemen, Syria and Libya that had been stored in Geneva's free ports -- highly secured warehouses where valuables can be stashed tax-free with few questions asked.

Supplies, experts needed

Old Sanaa, inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List since 1986, faces other dangers.

Perched 2,300 metres (7,500 feet) up in Yemen's western mountains, it has been continuously inhabited for over 2,500 years and is home to some of the earliest Islamic architecture.

With more than 100 mosques and 6,000 houses built before the 11th century, the old city is famed for its multi-storeyed homes of red basalt rock, with arched windows decorated with white latticework.